Goldmund, the feminine perfume by Dorissima, a small German brand, is a beautiful and warm floriental that could and would have been a lot more popular and successful had it was easier to find. I've loved Goldmund since I first came across it in 2006, when both Dorissima perfumes (Goldmund, and the masculine Narziß) were sold in the US through Luckyscent. The opulent style suited me and I have always kept some on hand, but procrastinated on getting a bottle until it became too late, the brand was dropped from Luckyscent's inventory (foolishly, I also missed it when they cleared out stock at a huge discount).
Once it was gone from our shores, the only way to buy Dorissima's products is through the German website, but while you can place the order online, you can't actually make the purchase in any way known to the modern shopper or to modern science. Instead, you need to go to your bank and so a wire transfer. I'm dead serious. So, no, that's not how I shop. But I was on a quest and eventually found someone who was selling an almost full bottle. Score! And I didn't even need to send a telegram confirmation or use a carrier pigeon.
It was about time, really, because the last of my decant was gone and I really wanted to be able to spray and enjoy the lush flowers - rose, iris and carnation, full of color and body, slightly powdery and feminine as a vintage dress with a full skirt. Dorissima has the curves of a 1950s screen siren but it's not aloof and isn't playing games. It's warm and inviting thanks to a sweet sandalwood and tonka/vanilla base. It's creamy (and makes me wish for a matching body butter) once the powdery notes dry down and has both comforting aspects without losing the sensuality and self-assuredness: she's adorable and she knows it.
As I've mentioned above, Goldmund (89euro, 60ml) is only available if you're willing to jump through some hoops on dorissima.de.
Photo by Norman Parkinson for Vogue, 1950
Add this to the list of scents I want to try but probably never will. I'm not doing a wire transfer for nothin'. It really does sound lovely, though. I'm glad you were able to score an almost-full bottle!
ReplyDeleteUh-oh... rose, iris, carnation? Sigh.
ReplyDeleteNo, no nononono. I do not need to mess with wire transfers.
The money-wiring thing strikes me as so German. A year ago I moved back to the US after living in Germany for four years and one of the things I most certainly do NOT miss is the absolute phobia of credit cards that exists outside the major cities. Having to get out over $1000 in cash before going to IKEA Nurnberg is one of my weirder memories of life in Germany ("it's IKEA, what do you mean they don't take credit cards?!").
ReplyDeleteThat said, I wish I'd known about this scent while I lived there. Oh well. Still crossing my fingers that we'll move back to Germany eventually. Maybe I'll get another chance!
Thanks for the review!
- Kate
I've just purchased a sample of Goldmund from the UK website scent-and-sensibility.co.uk with a credit card...only downside is they only ship to UK, so unless you have a pal there who could forward it on...
ReplyDelete